He Government of Pedro Sánchez gave the green light to the reform of the regulations of the immigration law which reduces delays and simplifies the conditions for regularization of immigrants residing in Spain undocumented and this will benefit more than 900,000 illegal immigrants over the next three years. “We want to make it easier for foreigners to access employment suited to their professional profile,” declared the Minister of Inclusion and Social Security. Elma Saizduring the press conference after the Council of Ministers.
The current immigration regulations date from 2011, although they have been subject to several modifications over time, the most recent dating from 2022. With this reform, the Government aims to promote the significant contribution of the immigrant group to the current period of job growth. For now, the first regularizations and authorized work permits would arrive in summer 2025.
Saiz assures that this change in regulations will transform our country “for the better”. “Spain today is fortunately a country of opportunities. Before, our young people were emigrating, today we are a pole of attraction”, added the minister, ignoring the unemployment rate of young Spanish people which, according to the latest data from the European Statistics Office, Eurostat, amounts to 24.7%the highest in the community block.
Concerning the needs of the labor market, Saiz said a specific section is created in the rule that includes both short-term and long-term visas, “to make it more easily understandable.” In this sense, he also added that the procedures are “simplified” and that the powers between consulates and immigration offices are “delimited”. On the other hand, he stressed that the new regulations reduced bureaucracy. “From now on, all initial authorizations will be for one year and renewals will be for four years,” he stressed.
Another novelty is the regulation of the job search visa, for which it was announced that its validity would be extended from three to twelve months, with the aim that “foreign companies obtain employment suited to their professional profile and, “at the same time, businesses find the professionals they need.”
Concerning the roots, Saiz indicated that the new regulations have five rooting modalities: social, socio-formative, socio-professional, family and second chance roots. “The novelty is that they are homogenized and the length of stay in Spain is reduced from three to two years. The conditions to be met are relaxed and from the start you can work not only as an employee, but also as a self-employed person,” he said.
In the same spirit, the minister explained that at the end of 2023 There were 210,334 people with permission for rootsor 84,983 more than in 2022. “We estimated that with this reform, an average of 300,000 people will be able to be regularized per year over the next three years,” he assured, adding that from 2022 to 2023, people regularized by roots affiliated to social security increased by 30.4%.
Furthermore, Saiz stressed “that a prosperous society must know how to train and attract talent”. It is for this reason that he indicated that in terms of training, people subject to these regulations will be able to benefit from a residence permit for studies which will last as long as their training lasts. In addition, he explained that the new regulation “facilitates” a rapid procedure to be able to obtain a work authorization once studies are completed. During their studies, they will also be allowed to work a maximum of 30 hours per week and regardless of the training they follow.
